Cain Velasquez acerta Junior Cigano. Foto: UFC/Divulgação.

A MGM Arena em Las Vegas recebeu a edição 155 do UFC, nesse sábado. No octagon, Junior Cigano acabou superado por Cain Velasquez e perdeu o cinturão dos pesados. Na batalha mais sangrenta do evento Jim Miller venceu Joe Lauzon por decisão unânime dos jurados. O duelo recebeu o prêmio de melhor luta da noite, já o bônus pelo nocaute e pela finalização do evento  ficaram com Todd Duffee e John Moraga, respectivamente.

[flickr set=72157632384758118]

UFC 155
MGM Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
29 de dezembro de 2012

Cain Velasquez venceu Junior Cigano na decisão unânime dos jurados

Jim Miller venceu Joe Lauzon na decisão unânime dos jurados

Costa Philippou venceu Tim Boetsch por nocaute técnico aos 2min11s do R3

Yushin Okami venceu Alan Belcher na decisão unânime dos jurados

Derek Brunson venceu Chris Leben na decisão unânime dos jurados

Eddie Wineland venceu Brad Pickett na decisão dividida dos jurados

Erik Perez venceu Byron Bloodworth por nocaute técnico aos 3min50s do R1

Jamie Varner venceu Melvin Guillard na decisão dividida dos jurados

Myles Jury venceu Michael Johnson na decisão unânime dos jurados

Todd Duffee nocauteou Phil De Fries aos 2min4s do R1

Max Holloway venceu Leonard Garcia na decisão dividida dos jurados

John Moraga finalizou Chris Cariaso no triângulo de mão aos 11s do R3

Todd Duffee (right) punches Phil De Fries during their heavyweight fight at UFC 155 on December 29, 2012 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

The UFC 155 prelims entertained the Las Vegas crowd and those watching at home on FX on Saturday night, but not without some questionable scores being tabulated by the judges.

Eddie Wineland, Erik Perez and Todd Duffee led the way for Saturday night’s preliminary fights at the MGM Grand, capping off an undercard full of back-and-forth action, as well as first-round finishes.

Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland 

Eddie Wineland defeated Brad Pickett, shutting down his opponent with a split decision in the final UFC 155 prelim on FX.

Wineland landed several punches in the first round, wobbling Pickett on many occasions. Pickett did well to move forward, but never landed the “one punch” that gave him his nickname.

Wineland landed less significant strikes as the fight went to the final round, but he maintained enough to outscore his opponent on the feet in the judges’ eyes. The final scores read 30-27, 28-29 and 30-27.

“I hit him with everything I had,” Wineland said after the win. “He’s got a melon on him like a coconut.”

Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth 

Erik Perez pounded out Byron Bloodworth in their UFC 155 prelim on FX, earning the TKO in the first round.

Perez brought the fight to the ground after landing a knee from the clinch in Bloodworth’s ribcage. Soon after, Perez worked from top position and landed consecutive elbows, cutting open Bloodworth’s forehead.

The Mexican fighter earned his third win in the UFC, with the finish coming at 3:50 of the opening frame.

Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner 

Jamie Varner won a split decision over Melvin Guillard in their prelim fight.

Guillard landed several legkicks early on, but Varner stayed active and took his opponent down several times. A big slam near the end of the fight capped it off for Varner.

Notably, one judge scored the fight unanimously for Guillard, which brought on the split decision. Across the board, the scores were 30-27, 27-30, 30-27.

Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury 

Myles Jury stayed undefeated, topping Michael Johnson by unanimous decision in their prelim fight.

Jury dominated Johnson on the ground, controlling him and peppering strikes from top position for a majority of the three-round contest. Judges scored it the same across the board, 30-27.

Phil DeFries vs. Todd Duffee 

Todd Duffee made a successful return to the UFC, knocking out Phil DeFries in the first round of the final Facebook undercard fight.

After getting taken down early in the fight, Duffee returned the fight to a standing contest and landed several right hands that put DeFries out for good at 2:04 of the first round.

Leonard Garcia vs. Max Holloway 

Max Holloway topped Leonard Garcia in the second fight of the night, nabbing the split decision. Garcia landed several strikes in the second and third rounds, but the judges have the decision to Holloway, which signaled the crowd to voice their displeasure with boos.

Chris Cariaso vs. John Moraga

John Moraga defeated Chris Cariaso in the evening’s opening bout. Two went back and forth for two rounds before Moraga sank the front choke at 1:11 of the third round.

For more UFC and MMA coverage,

visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section

Junior Cigano and his team at Salvador, Brazil airport (Photo posted on his Twitter account)

After toiling away to make it to his showdown with former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in 100 percent shape, Junior dos Santos never imagined he’d still have some more suffering to do before arriving at his Las Vegas destination.

The Brazilian missed his flight to the United States on Christmas Eve. “Because of the whim of the airline the week has started out awfully for me. It would be easy to shrug it off if I didn’t have an important fight coming up on Saturday. TAM lied and told its customers that the airport was closed, and for reasons unknown to me, they made life rough on me,” Cigano posted on Twitter.

“TAM ruined my trip. It took me six hours of flying to get from Salvador to São Paulo, and then I missed my flight to Vegas. Major lack of respect. This is an outrage,” added the fighter, who finally arrived in the United States today.

Check out the following video of Cigano going through his preparations for his December 29 showdown with Cain Velasquez:

UFC 155
MGM Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
December 29, 2012

Junior Cigano vs. Cain Velasquez
Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon
Tim Boetsch vs. Costa Philippou
Yushin Okami vs. Alan Belcher
Chris Leben vs. Karlos Vemola
Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth
Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury
Leonard Garcia vs. Cody Mckenzie
Phil de Fries vs. Todd Duffee

For more UFC and MMA coverage,

visit GRACIEMAG.com’s Choke MMA section

Junior Cigano e sua equipe no aeroporto de Salvador. Foto: Reprodução Twitter

Após ralar muito para chegar 100% para a luta contra o ex-campeão Cain Velasquez, Junior Cigano não sabia que teria de sofrer mais um pouco antes de chegar a Las Vegas.

O catarinense radicado na Bahia perdeu o voo para os Estados Unidos na noite de Natal. “Por um capricho da companhia aérea a semana começa pessimamente para mim. Seria simples deixar-pra-lá, se eu não tivesse uma luta tão importe sábado. A TAM mentiu que o aeroporto estava fechado para os clientes e, por uma razão que ainda desconheço, complicou a minha vida”, escreveu Cigano no Twitter.

“A TAM arruinou minha viagem. Levei seis horas de voo de Salvador para São Paulo e perdi meu voo para Vegas. Falta de respeito total. Estou revoltado, é um absurdo”, completou o lutador, que chega hoje aos Estados Unidos.

Relembre como foi a preparação de Cigano, no vídeo do UFC abaixo. O UFC 155 será transmitido ao vivo pelo canal Combate.

UFC 155
MGM Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
29 de dezembro de 2012

Junior Cigano vs Cain Velasquez
Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon
Tim Boetsch vs Costa Philippou
Yushin Okami vs Alan Belcher
Chris Leben vs Karlos Vemola
Brad Pickett vs Eddie Wineland
Erik Perez vs Byron Bloodworth
Michael Johnson vs Myles Jury
Leonard Garcia vs Cody Mckenzie
Phil de Fries vs Todd Duffee